aniel Deusser and Cornet d’Amour won the WEF World Cup Grand Prix last season

Daniel Deusser and Cornet d’Amour won the WEF World Cup Grand Prix last season-->

Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) announces that there have been FEI level rating changes to three of the weeks in the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) circuit. Following objections from a number of conflicting CSI 5* events, ESP has been forced to reduce the star levels of three of their events.

However, money has been reallocated to maximize the prize money available during the FTI WEF so that the two 5* events on FTI WEF 5 and 12 and the two 4* events on FTI WEF 7 and 9 will have the following prize money in FEI classes:

ESP CEO Mark Bellissimo stated, “We are disappointed that we have been prevented from increasing the number of 5 star events. We are committed to providing the Americas with top class events and maximizing the available prize money. We believe that to grow the sport, the money available must enable riders to make a living from competing, just as happens in every other major sport. However, we have reworked our events to conform to the restrictions and have managed to maintain a significant amount of the prize money that will be offered and the consequent ranking points available for the riders.”

He continued, “We were pleased that some shows were supportive and believe as we do that increased prize money is the way forward for the sport. This will not deter us in the future as we look forward to even more growth in the years to come. We are hopeful that we can work collaboratively to continue to grow the sport in the United States.”